Fast Forward

It's been a long time. A little over six months, to be exact. Thankfully, I didn't literally drop off the face of the earth. Just the internet version of the face of the earth.

In the six months I haven't been blogging, I've done a few pretty exciting things:

• Graduated from Sarah Lawrence I can't believe that my time in college has (finally) come to an end. I didn't find graduation to be bittersweet--it was a full-on sugary experience for me. I got a wonderful education from Sarah Lawrence, for which I am forever thankful...but I'm almost just as thankful that I don't have to return for classes this fall. I'm excited to enter "the real world" in a few weeks with my first full time job!
• Passed the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Test Who knows, you might even see me on the show in a few months...fingers crossed!
• Stopped Washing My Hair Well...technically I just stopped usuing shampoo after reading a few books on clean beauty products. Surprisingly, my hair has never looked better.
• Became a Zumba Instructor I personally LOVE Zumba classes! They are one of my favorite ways to incorporate cardio into my fitness routine. In March, I took a day-long training course so that instead of just going to classes, I can lead them.
• Expanded my blogging horizons While I wasn't blogging on this personal page, I wrote some blog posts for O2 MAX Fitness and launched my own fitness blog, Sweatsational.

I decided to revive my blog for the summer as I prepare to compete in my final year of Miss America local pageants. I gave just one local pageant a go last season--I'll definitely explain why in a future blog post! I've decided to take advantage of every opportunity I have to compete this year, starting with the Miss Thousand Islands Pageant in August (fun fact: They're the longest running local in the state!). As I've prepared for the pageant, I thought back to how much I enjoy sharing my pageant experiences via my blog. There is so much more to competing than showing up in a sparkly dress and makeup. It takes hard work, dedication to your community, and a personal drive to be successful in pageants. I hope that on my blog, I can continue to show you a different side of pageantry than you see on TV. On that note, stay tuned! I have a feeling it is going to be a great year!

Love,
Sarah